


Who Are You, Pretty Boy?

by RosyPumpkin, ShadowoftheLamp



Series: Flowers Bloom With Love and Hard Work [11]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: College AU, M/M, OC, Original Character - Freeform, flower shop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 21:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9142072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosyPumpkin/pseuds/RosyPumpkin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: In Shadow's haste, Rouge discovers a pretty boy hidden in Shadow's notes. Who is he?





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting these in order timeline wise for now, but future pieces may be out of order. If you're ever confused, the timeline can be found here:
> 
> http://rosypumpkinstudios.tumblr.com/flowershoptimeline

Shadow rushed down the hallway, chugging down his coffee that was too hot and tasted like burnt coals. He’d be lucky if he even had a palette by the end of the school year. When he reached the door to his class, he took a moment to compose himself. He wanted to at least attempt looking like a decent Mobian before coming into class late. Shadow entered as silently as possible, slipping down the walkway and into a seat in the back, hurriedly pulling out his papers. 

“Look who finally showed up.” The professor said, putting the dry erase marker down. 

“Sorry sir!” Shadow called, rapidly jotting down notes into his notebook. “Traffic.” 

The professor was a plump old man with oddly thin limbs. He ran his fingers over his obnoxious mustache and turned around.

“You do realize that it is eleven thirty at night, correct?”

Shadow flinched. What really happened was he had lost track of time and took his time to finish his homework, but that wouldn’t fly with a Professor. Considering Professor Ivo Robotnik was known for screwing his students over, Shadow doubted he would tolerate any excuse he gave, which was a shame because he came in late more often than he’d like.

“Yes sir. It won’t happen again.” 

“I do believe you are repeating yourself, hedgehog. This is the second time this week, and the third this month. Do not cross me again, or it’ll come out of your grades.”

“Understood sir.”

~*~ 

Shadow hunched over his textbook, scribbling notes onto a piece of paper, occasionally taking a sip of his cold instant ramen. His roommates, a bat named Rouge and a porcupine named Oscar watched him from the bathroom door. 

“How long has he been reading that textbook?” Oscar whispered, watching over Rouge’s shoulder. 

“Literally the moment he got here ‘till now.” Rouge sighed. “He’s gonna kill himself with stress.”

“I can hear you, y'know.” Shadow didn’t look up from his papers as he said it. 

“Good!” Rouge yelled back, “maybe you’ll listen and take a fucking break.” 

Shadow jumped when the tip of his mechanical pencil broke, grunting and clicking the end to bring out more pencil lead. Rouge walked over to his desk, massaging his tense shoulders.

“C'mon Shadow! They’re watching a movie in the lounge. Take a break.” 

Shadow finally glared up at her, swatting her hands away. 

“We’ve been friends since the second grade, and you know I can’t afford to take a break.” 

“We’ve been friends since the second grade, so I know that taking a break is what you need.” 

Shadow huffed, forcibly moving himself closer to his desk and letting his hands support his aching head and neck. 

“I can’t afford to be distracted right now. I can relax when spring break gets here, but this is not that time.” 

Rouge rolled her eyes before returning her hands to his neck, easing the tense tissue. 

“It would only be an hour and a half. There’s free food, fresh air and real people you can talk to. It’ll help you come back more prepared to take on your homework.” 

Shadow glanced at the clock. It was ten forty five PM. Shadow sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose with his fingers. 

“I don’t have time. I need to finish this outline before going to class at eleven. Professor Robotnik needs this the moment class begins. Now please, let me work.” 

Rouge let go of him, folding her arms in a huff. “You need to switch out of that class. That professor is shit and you know it.”

“All the other ones are full, Rouge. And I can’t just drop science class, it’s a core elective.”

Rouge rolled her eyes, “I know, but shouldn’t your major in botany eliminate that need entirely? You’re taking like three other science courses already-” 

“Dude, you should just switch your major. It’d give you so much more time to do more important things.” 

Carlos, a bright red fox, stepped in with a hamper full of laundry. “You know you’d be better off with a degree that isn’t as demanding.”

“What kind of degree isn’t 'demanding’?” Shadow shot back, irritated he was loosing precious seconds to this conversation. 

“I’m just saying bro, consider it. You don’t really fit the flower aesthetic anyways. I see you as more of a grumpy customer service worker than a botanist. You’d probably scorch the wildlife with your anger.” 

“Carlos! Fuck off!” Rouge shouted. Shadow clutched his head. 

“Can everyone please just shut up?! I need to get this done!” 

Carlos set his laundry down on his bed. “Whatever. I’m going down to the lounge. See ya later.” 

Carlos stomped off, Shadow turned back to his work, and Rouge stared blankly back at Oscar who was quickly becoming very uncomfortable. He set a hand on her shoulder, turning her towards the door. 

“C'mon Rouge. Let’s go. We’ll bring you something back, Shadow.”

Shadow grunted and waved them off, furiously jotting notes and glancing obsessively at the clock. Rouge shook her head before closing the door behind her.

~*~

When Rouge woke up that morning, Shadow was dead asleep at his desk, a gentle snore passing between his lips. He must have come back from his classes and tried to study more and fallen asleep. She gently maneuvered him out of the chair, grunting under his weight, and set him down on his own bed. Tucking him in with a kiss, she went to mark his textbook and close it before she noticed a small doodle on the sidebar of his notes. 

It was a hedgehog, which didn’t surprise her, he’d been known to doodle himself in his books. It was the fact that it wasn’t a self portrait that surprised her. This hedgehog was softer, rounder. He was poised so that one hand was pointing like a gun, the other wrapped around a rose, winking and smiling. She chuckled, taking a quick picture with her phone before closing the book after setting a post-it inside. She could tease him about it later. For now she needed to get ready before Oscar and Carlos woke up and took over the bathroom. 

“So much for not being distracted.” She mumbled to herself as she snatched her makeup bag on her way to the bathroom. She glanced down at the image that was still displayed on her phone. 

“Who are you, pretty boy?”


End file.
